


The Itch

by Broken_Clover



Category: BlazBlue
Genre: Amane has a heart, Bang is a dumbass but we love him anyway, Fluff and Angst, I Will Go Down With This Ship, M/M, Not too angsty I promise, Scars, Sorry if it's not canon compliant I'm a dumb bitch
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-20
Updated: 2018-09-20
Packaged: 2019-07-14 14:27:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16042319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Broken_Clover/pseuds/Broken_Clover
Summary: Some scars are physical, and some scars are mental. Sometimes, it just takes a friend to make both easier.





	The Itch

**Author's Note:**

> Here I come, sneaking into the Blazblue tag! I do not see any content for these two, but it will not stop the fact that I love these two. They're both excellent characters, have great chemistry together, and tbh I'm really just a sucker for rivals-to-lovers.

_Skritch_

_Skritch skritch_

_Skritch skritch skritch-_

“Hnnng…”

Early-morning sunlight slipped between the curtain slats, painting long lines on the simple bedsheets. A perfect blue sky, with scarcely a cloud, it looked like all the signs pointed to a pleasant Kagutsuchi day.

Bang Shishigami was up early, as usual. It was routine for him to wake up early and do his morning exercises, to stay fit and to lead a good example. Unlike most people, he usually had little trouble waking himself up so early and dragging himself out of bed.

Emphasis on _usually_.

“Hmph.”

_Skritch skritch_

Truth be told, Bang had woken up even earlier than usual. He should have been able to pull himself out of bed a while ago and gotten to business. At this rate, his schedule was already going to be thrown off-kilter. At the moment, though, he could hardly care less, seeing as how most of his attention was focused on trying to not scratch his own face off.

_Skritch_

The twin lines of scar tissue that ran between his eyes didn’t itch as much as they used to. Back when the wound was fresh, there had been many times where he had woken up all but cutting through the bandages in an attempt to alleviate the unbearable itching and scratch until it stopped. With time, the nerves seemed to have soothed themselves, and it had become little more than a marking on his skin.

Bang let the tips of his fingers trace against the scar’s edge. He tried pressing down a little, to see if the pressure would make the sensation away, but the feeling of nails biting into his skin made his hand twitch in anticipation. So much for that.

A quiet sigh echoed in the room as he sank back into the bed. He wished that he didn’t know why it was acting up this time. The lingering traces of the nightmare were still clinging to his thoughts, unforgotten. The image of Kisaragi, silhouetted by the light. The sound and sight of a sword being sheathed over his master's frozen body. A hate-filled glare directed at him, a flash of light just a moment before pain blazed across his face and made his vision go white-

At the very least, he hadn’t screamed. When he did, someone _always_ came running, and he’d have less than a minute to half-ass some excuse to convince them that everything was fine.

God forbid if it was Nishiki. Bang was happy to have offered to house the performer and his troupe during their stay. He loved children, and all of them had been nothing but absolute darlings, but Amane had steadily been getting on his nerves. Not because he had been his usual condescending self- in fact, the exact opposite. He’d briefly wondered what had come over his rival, with how often he had prone to chatting it up lately, shooting the breeze and making sure that he was doing well. He wouldn’t dare have admitted that anything was wrong to that pretty-boy. He couldn’t think of anything more embarrassing than spilling his heart out to a man who probably cried over romance novels and puppy-dogs. 

(Alright, Bang supposed, that one was par for the course. Something about shiba puppies just got him every time.)

For a moment, he was proud of himself for managing to ignore the discomfort. Immediately after thinking that, though, he felt it flare up, and began grumbling to himself as he started scratching again.

“Rrgh...annoying little…”

“Shishigami?”

Speak of the devil. Bang sat up, glancing over at the still-closed door as he continued to idly scratch. “Nishiki, what it it?”

“Oh, so you’re still in bed?” The man’s tone held a twinge of surprise. “I figured you would have gotten up by now, don’t you have a morning run or something like that?”

 _’Damn that pretty-boy…’_ “Well, I suppose we all have our off days, don’t we?”

“Is everything alright? You sound a little off.”

“Everything is 100%, just as always! I am merely having a late morning, that is all! I will be with you shortly!

For a moment, it was quiet. Then, he heard the doorknob rattling. “I’m coming in.”

“E-eh?!” Without thinking, Bang pulled the sheets back over his head. “Nishiki, haven’t you heard of privacy?!”

Amane didn’t reply. The sound of geta heels clicked off of the floor, slowly making their way towards the bed. The ninja was desperately trying to think of some response to give, to get Amane to turn and leave as soon as possible.

The sheet was pulled off, and Bang found himself face-to-face with a pair of inquisitive sapphire eyes.

“Shishigami, is everything alright?”

“What?” Thinking quickly, he puffed out his chest and threw his head high. “I don’t know what it is you’re talking about! The Hero of Kagutsuchi is merely having an unusual morning, that is all! It’s nothing for you to concern yourself with!”

“Ah. I see.” Amane cast an aside glance, and for a moment, Bang could swear that he could make out...disappointment? Why that, of all things?

“Yes! It’s true.” Feeling a bit more confident, he let himself slump back a little, not realizing that he had started scratching again. “Even heroes can have off days, but I assure you that it will not interfere with any of my duties! I made a promise to the people, and nothing will impede that!”

“Uh-huh, sure.” He recognized the familiar twinge of condescension in Amane’s tone and smirk. That, at least, was normal enough.

“May I ask what you are insinuating?” It was easy enough to fall into the rhythm of banter.

“Oh, nothing.” The performer turned away, shaking his head. “I just question how much of a hero you can be when you don’t even wash yourself right. Didn’t I tell you that you needed to exfoliate more?”

“Eh...what?”

Amane turned back, tilting his head a little. “You keep scratching at your face, Shishigami. Don’t tell me it’s lice? I know a good shampoo, but if it’s some kind of skin condition, I don’t want you anywhere near my boys, or me for that matter-”

“It’s _nothing_ , Nishiki.”

He flinched a little, and Bang realized how forcefully it had come out. “Er, I merely misunderstand why you seem to care about this so much.”

The ghost of a smirk crossed the man’s lips, but vanished. “It is wrong to worry if my rival has some sort of condition that I should know about?”

“For Gods’ sakes, Nishiki, I’m not _sick_. Is that simple enough to understand?” He felt his fingernails digging ever deeper into the skin of his face. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have tasks I need to get to, and it’s not something I can do with you still-”

“Bang.” Amane said. “You’re bleeding.”

He froze in place. His fingers felt sticky as he pulled them away to look, the pads smeared with a slight bit of red. A faint trickle of liquid was dribbling down the side of his nose, which itched even more, and he felt his hand instinctively move back to deal with it.

“Don’t.”

A familiar pink looped around his wrist, snaring it and pulling it away from his face. Bang spotted Amane clutching the other end of the scarf, a stern expression etched into his features.

“Shishigami, tell me the truth. What exactly is going on with you?”

Finding himself cornered, but still not willing to admit to everything, Bang opted to keep it short. “My scar. It itches.”

The dancer’s face still kept its sternness, but his grip on the scarf lessened. He glanced around the room. “Do you keep a first aid kit?”

“Hidden under the tile in the far corner, two across, four down.”

“Hmph. At least you have that much sense.” The scarf finally pulled away, but Amane pointed a finger at him. “Don’t scratch.”

Bang indignantly crossed his arms, watching Amane cross the room and find the right tatami panel to peel back. All the while, he could feel the persistent itching. For once, it took all of his willpower to just do nothing.

“Well-stocked. Good.” After replacing the tile and returning to the man’s bedside, Amane clicked the kit open and pulled out a sticky bandage, alongside an antiseptic swab. “Hold still.”

“Wait, hold on just a second-” Bang wound up pressing himself against the wall, watching Amane with panicked eyes. “Y-you can’t just- ow ow ow!!”

Bright blue eyes rolled in their sockets. “It’s just disinfectant, Bang.”

“Gah, but now it itches _mooooore!_ ” He whined.

“I swear, you have the temperance of a five-year-old child.” Amane shook his head in disappointment. “Even my youngest performers can sit still while I clean out their wounds.”

It seemed like he wasn’t in a position to be prideful, so Bang felt little shame in whining and grumbling until Amane finished cleaning out and covering the cut on his face.

“There. Was that really so bad?”

“I told you, I’m _fine._ Why on earth are you treating me in such a degrading manner?”

Anger flared in his rival’s eyes. “I’m _not_ -” He paused, taking a deep breath, and let his features soften. “Does it still itch?”

“Maybe...a little…” It did. A lot.

“Alright. I need you to hold still again.” Amane reached out again, and Bang leaned away. “Bang, stop being stubborn.”

“Maybe _you_ should.”

Amane made an irritated little noise, rubbing at his temples. “I promise I’m not trying to baby you. I know a few good massage techniques for scars, I thought it would help you stop scratching before you hurt yourself again.”

A massage? That didn’t sound too bad… “Fine. The Hero of Kagutsuchi can handle a little itching, but if you’re so insistent-”

“Good. Perhaps you aren’t as bullheaded as I thought.”

Bang was going to protest that statement, but merely stiffened in mute confusion as Amane slipped off his geta and climbed onto the bed with him. His back was already pressed to the wall, so the dancer ended up all but crawling into his lap, one leg on either side. It felt a bit too...suggestive, for Bang’s liking, especially considering the fact that he himself was still shirtless, plus the fact that all the movement was jostling Amane’s bedrobe, with one sleeve sliding down just enough to expose the side of his neck and a creamy white shoulder…

He tore his eyes away, frantically banishing the thoughts from his mind. Amane was his _rival_ , he shouldn’t be having such thoughts about him. Besides, he still had his code of honor. He couldn’t believe that his mind would stray to such a vulgar place with such a minor thing. It was beneath him.

“Let me know if this hurts, alright? There’ll be pressure, but it isn’t supposed to be painful.”

For as delicate as Amane’s hands looked, they felt remarkably strong as they pressed into the scars’ edges underneath his eyes. Bang supposed that they had to be, considering how much grabbing and pulling the man did while fighting. Amane was a lot tougher than he looked, so he wasn’t all that surprised.

Still, there was a definite gentleness to it. He felt no pain or stinging, only the sensation of pressure as the skin was kneaded. It was unexpectedly soothing, to the point where he allowed his body to relax and muscles to unclench, and merely sat slumped against the wall.

“My my, it seems like you had quite a bit of tension in those shoulders. I wasn’t even working on that!” Said Amane, an amused little smile on his lips.

Flushing in embarrassment, Bang tried to find a less awkward place to direct his eyes to, someplace that wasn’t on that admittedly rather adorable smile. He found himself staring at Amane’s shoulder again, to his own dismay. With the way that the two of them had moved, he could make out the very tips of a trio of ugly pink lines that stood out harshly against pale skin. They slid over the curve of his shoulder before vanishing out of his view and back under the fabric of his robe.

“Nishiki?” Bang felt his own hand moving. He let it drift toward the other man, feeling for the edge of his clothing in curiosity. “These markings, did someone-”

A firm smack slapped his hand away. When he looked up, Amane had his eyes firmly focused elsewhere.

“It’s nothing.” He pulled the sleeve of his robe back into place. “It isn’t...you don’t need to worry about it.”

Bang was going to call him out on that, but knew how hypocritical it would have been. He couldn’t think of anything else to say, though, so the two sat in awkward silence and refused to meet each others’ eyes.

“I know sometimes, if you get a flashback to an injury, it can make the scars ache.”

Bang’s eyes narrowed. “How do you-”

“Let’s just say I know these techniques for a reason, and leave it at that.” With that, Amane was able to look his rival in the eyes again. “I’m almost finished, and then I’ll get out. Alright?”

A hand each placed themselves on either side of the ninja’s face, thumbs pressing into the upper tips of his scar. Even with the awkward atmosphere, it was easy for Bang to melt back into the touch.

He had questions. A lot of them. But, he decided, they could wait. He could trust Amane to talk about it if he wanted to. Bang was no stranger to tragedy, he was sure that whatever it was that was bothering his rival, it was something that he could help with.

After all, what kind of a hero would he be if he didn’t help those in need?

“I think I’m finished. Do you feel better?”

“Oh, extremely!” Bang actually had to remind himself what that had all been for in the first place. The itch was gone entirely.

“Wonderful! See, didn’t I tell you?”

“Hmph.” He crossed his arms, smirking good-naturedly. “I suppose I owe you a thanks. Though I’m not sure how I’m going to explain the scratch on my face…”

Amane winked. “I’ll tell them that you cut yourself shaving.”

Bang rolled his eyes, sighing. He really couldn’t understand Nishiki most of the time. Perhaps it did make him interesting, but it typically just left Bang scratching his head in confusion, wondering what the heck was going through his mind.

That thought could not have been more ill-timed, as a moment later, Amane bent over and planted a kiss in the center of his scar.

“E-eh?!”

By the time he was able to process what had just happened, Amane had already climbed off of him and begun slipping back into his geta.

“Hope you’re feeling better, Bang. Next time something like this happens, you can come talk to me. Okay? Don’t want my rival falling out of practice.”

Bang assumed that was the end of the one-sided conversation. Instead, Amane slid the door open and paused in place. “Oh, and the boys made breakfast, if you’d care to come and join us.” He sent a smile over his shoulder. “It’s Yuji’s first time making crepes, so do be nice.”

Bang couldn’t think of the last time he’d jumped out of bed so quickly.

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry, I'm bad at endings T-T


End file.
